Contracts

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator James F. Clayborne (D-Belleville) passed a measure through the Illinois Senate Wednesday which aims to increase the number of minority-owned, female-owned and veteran-owned enterprises Illinois companies contract with.

The measure, Senate Bill 262, would require Illinois companies to submit a report outlining their procurement goals and highlighting minority ownership of businesses they contract with.

“This measure is about ensuring corporations do not continue to overlook minority-owned businesses,” Clayborne said. “I want to ensure that companies are investing back into the communities they provide service. If a company is supplying services in a community like East Saint Louis, they should do everything they can to contract with businesses in that community.

“It is also important that these companies show every best effort to diversify who they contract with. I want to make sure minority-, female- and veteran-owned businesses have a fair chance in this business climate.”

If companies fail to report their efforts showing their diversity goals to the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Business Enterprise Council, they would be barred from bidding on state contracts for one year.

The legislation passed the Senate Wednesday and now goes to the House for consideration.

The fight for employee equality advanced today when the Illinois Senate voted on two critical measures that ensure working families are given fair wages and benefits. The first measure Senate Bill 1229, which was overridden by the governor, aims to bar the American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees from striking or being locked out while a collective bargaining agreement is negotiated.

The union’s collective barging contract expired on July 1st. The Governor’s office and the state largest labor union AFSCME have yet to reach an agreement.

State Senator Gary Forby (D- Benton), who serves as the Senate’s Labor Committee Chairman, thinks the measure takes bureaucracy out of the negotiations, which will create a platform for non-politicized negotiations.

“Since Governor Rauner began his term, he has waged an all-out war against organized labor and working families,” said Forby. “It’s clear the Governor doesn’t want fair negotiations, so if we take the bureaucracy out of the negotiation process, then it gives us a clearer path to reach an agreement.”

SPRINGFIELD – Under a new law sponsored by State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago), social service providers will have at least 30 days’ notice of a change in contracts with the state.

House Bill 3110 allows authorized social service providers and the state to terminate, suspend or reduce a contract for any reason as long as the other party is provided with 30 days’ notice.

“Immediate contract changes can create an immense financial hardship for social service providers and those they serve,” Steans said. “In the aftermath of the budget impasse, I felt it was important to increase protections for social service contracts and afford providers with more notice so that they can better prepare for financial changes in the future.”

VILLA PARK - Illinois now has a streamlined process to improve the way state government entities purchase goods and services, thanks to Villa Park Democrat Tom Cullerton.

Cullerton’s bipartisan initiative, Senate Bill 8, is a reform aimed at taxpayer savings that was signed into law today.

“Eliminating red tape and streamlining the purchasing process will make it easier for local businesses to bid on state contracts,” Cullerton said. “Our local businesses are the heart of our economy. It’s our duty to make this process easier and more transparent to help encourage economic development in our communities.”